Town Hall 6/17/03/8pm
Forum Link: Original Post 6/17 8pm Town Hall Chat Log Hunter Linden: Hi guys and welcome to another Second Life town hall Philip Linden: Ooh it's the late show! Hunter Linden: First off let me say thanks for attending Hunter Linden: You guys are an amazing community.... Hunter Linden: as we move towards commercial release.... Hunter Linden: it's all just the beginning.... Hunter Linden: because we've got lots of great new features coming, more land, etc Hunter Linden: so without further delay.... here's philip linden James Miller: If you have been here a few days, months, weeks, or even years, it doesn't matter, you had a part in this community Philip Linden: OK so hi everyone... for those that weren't here at 5... Philip Linden: Remember these days... exciting times. Philip Linden: Someday we'll all be famous... Philip Linden: and we'll look back on these times as something really special. Philip Linden: You guys will be like talking on PBS documentaries and stuff Philip Linden: OK so Hunter said it all... lots to come. Philip Linden: Let's go to questions, version 2.0.... Shoot! James Miller: Ok, I just read on the forums that we are getting a new continent James Miller: What exactly is this going to be, such as, how many sims, and what will the sims be fore? Philip Linden: Yes! Philip Linden: Some land will be coming on line this week... and then roughly the rest in two batches... Philip Linden: late june and early July. Philip Linden: So there will be: Philip Linden: Sandbox sims! You can build and play there and everything goes away every night... Philip Linden: Community sims... many are involved in that. Philip Linden: Also a second welcome area. James Miller: How many of the sims will be free for people to trash....err, build on? Philip Linden: And expensive sims for the wealthy (with more expensive land)! Philip Linden: So some fun experiments and LOTS of new space. Hiro Yamamoto: how many mature? Philip Linden: A few, like the existing. Philip Linden: Total land area will be comparable to the existing SL area! Philip Linden: So quite an expansion pack Philip Linden: Let's see the games try that. James Miller: What will the continents name be?? Philip Linden: We haven't decided... still just names for the sims. Hiro Yamamoto: one word, or is it two, not sure, maybe it's hyphenated... anyways: Framerate (or frame rate or even frame-rate) Hiro Yamamoto: i have decent hardware and am getting 5fps atm, is anything being done to work this number up a bit? Philip Linden: Ahh framerate! Philip Linden: OK so there are lots of things that cause low frame rate, Philip Linden: and we are doing many different things to reduce... Philip Linden: I can list a few. Philip Linden: There are things we are working on to reduce jitter while flying... Philip Linden: So that we don't have to 'load in' as many objects. Philip Linden: So that will be one positive. Philip Linden: Also, we will keep working on fast avatar rendering . Philip Linden: So at an event like this of course that helps big time. Philip Linden: So you can speed the framerate by turning off lighting, glows, etc (they are off by default) Philip Linden: And by pulling in draw distance. Huns Valen: might be more useful to include draw distance, CPU speed and memory amount, and GFX card along with framerate... and resolution too Philip Linden: Probably the biggest affect at an event like this is driver/card combo. Philip Linden: Make sure your drivers are current. Philip Linden: Anyway we will aggressively improve fps. Philip Linden: We've got a good track record there. Hikaru Yamamoto: Will you be making any TV commercials for SL like TSO did? Philip Linden: Oooh I like that. Philip Linden: Something with teen stars... we'll have to see if they're available Philip Linden: Of course... in true SL style we'd have you in them. Philip Linden: But seriously... Philip Linden: We will be doing marketing. Philip Linden: but no TV right away. Philip Linden: We'll be doing more 'guerilla' sorta stuff... I think it'll be fun. Philip Linden: wait and see. Skippy Powers: With the release tomorrow will we see any UI changes. And even if not tomorrow what are you thinking they will be? Philip Linden: OK... UI changes: Philip Linden: Well tomorrow there won't be anything big, except some great changes to the map. Philip Linden: You will be able to see where you are on the big map. Philip Linden: And clicking on attachments will work as a touch, menu. Philip Linden: So there are gonna lots of little things we do in steps... Philip Linden: There are lots of little things we think we can make better. Philip Linden: For later in the year we'd like a bigger overhaul with a different look, etc. Philip Linden: Not sure of design yet, but we will definitely post on it. Maurilio Gallant: How can you sign up for classes in how to build and edit and such if you are completely incompetent? Philip Linden: Go to the event calendar on the web site. Hunter Linden: Cal Rogers - you'll be next so get ready Philip Linden: Then pick the one you want. Philip Linden: There is (I think) gonna be an ability to launch SL and a landmark from the site! Philip Linden: Don't quote me on that, but I think it is in. Cal Rogers: I'm concerned about the number of billboards in world, it is a real eyesore, do you expect to have any changes in this area to assist Philip Linden: Billboard! The hot topic. Philip Linden: OK here's what I think... Philip Linden: We are gonna add ways to govern things like zoning and building codes within sims... Philip Linden: So areas will be able to outlaw them if they like. Philip Linden: But globally we think it's very hard to take a position - commerce is part of life. Philip Linden: And even if we didn't want them, defining them would be impossible. Philip Linden: I think that as the ratings systems become more mature, folks will moderate their use... Philip Linden: If everyone hates it, right? Philip Linden: You won't want to have a lousy rating... and with a big world you could get one fast. Philip Linden: We are also thinking of showing negative ratings as well... Philip Linden: Inotherwards see both positive and negative. Philip Linden: What do you all think of that... Y or N... survey info recorded> Philip Linden: right now they are added together into one number. Philip Linden: OK thx. Szabo Horn: What is the current population of SL, what population do you anticipate for beyond the launch an can the system handle it? Philip Linden: Well right now around 7000 ppl have tried SL Philip Linden: We will see what happens at launch! Philip Linden: The world has capacity for a good number of people at this size. Philip Linden: So on the people... we can handle thousands right now, and can add servers very fast. Philip Linden: So things won't get crowded. Cricket Sunchaser: I live in Daboom. we have had serious issues with our sim being full, and now with objects missing daily.. Can the missing objects be related to the sim being full? it's getting quite tiresome rebuilding daily..not to mention costly. Philip Linden: OK DaBoom... Philip Linden: Yes it is lame for a sim to be full. Philip Linden: We are thinking about how to handle. Philip Linden: If there are objects that were not public being lost we need to know... Philip Linden: Please IM/mail me separately. Philip Linden: There seem to have been numerous public objects deleted, Philip Linden: OK Cricket see me after class. ; Cricket Sunchaser: ok ope rand: you mentioned there are going to be improvements to vehicle scripting. you mentioned better damping. is there anything else you remember? do you know if there will be better handling of borders? Philip Linden: I think we can get all border bugs fixed... some are fixed now. Philip Linden: Better handling of view when sitting is one thing we will make better soon. Philip Linden: I think that will make some basic fun possible Philip Linden: We'll see what we can do after that. Hikaru Yamamoto: Will friction, mass, and weight be added to physics in objects? Philip Linden: Good Q! Philip Linden: There are already different friction and restitution settings by material... Philip Linden: Try making a rubber ball. James Miller: Glass has the least friction Hikaru Yamamoto: it bounces more? James Miller: learned that with the monorail Philip Linden: Right. James Miller: Glass tracks make train run smooth Philip Linden: So we will add weight to attachments soon.. that will be fun. Hikaru Yamamoto: cool, i didn't know that Philip Linden: So you weigh more with stuff on. Skippy Powers: Was there a decision made today on how things are going to get changed in the Econ, system??? Philip Linden: Skippy... Philip Linden: OK so on econ... Philip Linden: We are going to play around with lower land taxes, as discussed earlier. Philip Linden: Another survey question... Philip Linden: How many folks would like to see daily rather than weekly stipend/tax runs. Philip Linden: So you would see every morning what had happened? Philip Linden: I meant that you would get 1/7 stipend and 1/7 tax daily. survey data recorded> Hiro Yamamoto: ummm did i have a question in the queue? i'll make one up.... anything gonna be done about the stars changing all the time? makes it hard to be a sl astronomer with no constellations that stay set Philip Linden: Ooh I like that one. Philip Linden: Maybe when you form a group it becomes a tiny constellation Philip Linden: Yeah OK good feedback on the stars. Hiro Yamamoto: right now i understand the stars are generated by the client randomly? Philip Linden: basically yes... Philip Linden: I won't say which linden is the god of stars James Miller: Is it true that Linden Lab has a private room in the sun, and that we are being watched from the sun during the daytime and the moon during nighttime? Philip Linden: just like the truman show... OK next Q Charlie Omega: when will you be able to add servers from other remote locations, and will there be an option for users to host a server? Philip Linden: Great Q charlie. Philip Linden: Well I hear there is a thread on this I haven't read, and I will tonight. Philip Linden: We will be offering some sort of ability to host servers. Philip Linden: First we will offer stuff where we run the servers. Philip Linden: Someday we'd like to allow them to be run privately. Philip Linden: The biggest issue there is guaranteeing great BW and access. Philip Linden: You don't want sims that are down or can only handle a few users. Philip Linden: So that is the fundamental issue. Philip Linden: We love the idea of the world expanding fast. Charlie Omega: what connection is recommended for a single server? Philip Linden: But thing the best way short term is to allow operating servers that WE host. Philip Linden: So we are thinking about that. Zypher Crash: what if we ran them privately but people could only get to them, if they had a location card, much like the ones we have now where a few are building? Philip Linden: Good Q... gotta think about whether that would make more sense. Gwydeon Nomad: This is a clarification to Hik's mirror question earlier When coping an object could it be possible to copy it as a mirror image of itself (all pieces exactly reversed) this would help in many building/modeling projects. Gwydeon Nomad: Example: If i made an arrow object andused this copy method the copied arrow would be pointing in the other direction. Philip Linden: Oh! OK a mirror copy. Philip Linden: Can you put in a thread on that? That would be pretty easy I think. Philip Linden: Good idea! James Miller: ok, is Linden Lab aware of the bug that charlie posted about today? James Miller: the WASD bug? James Miller: This is really getting annoying to me James Miller: I will do anything to stop it Philip Linden: I'm not James, but I'd be happy to talk after. Philip Linden: I've not caught up today on threads. Hopalong Digeridoo: any possibility of getting a stripped-down server for building practice stuff offline? Philip Linden: I'll think about it. Probably not near-term. It requires a LOT of stuff to run independent. Philip Linden: But that is a nice idea. Philip Linden: Perhaps a post would be good too. Hopalong Digeridoo: ok Archanox Underthorn: eyes seem to have a reflective layer on them, are there any plans to let us use reflective surfaces? Philip Linden: Yes, we will have that soon... reflective surfaces. Huns Valen: great... how's this sound Huns Valen: LUMINOSITY CONTROL for LIGHTS Philip Linden: Huns you mean brightness? Huns Valen: rather than having to build a sphere as large as the Sun, Huns Valen: yes brightness Philip Linden: Change the size of the object, Huns. Philip Linden: That controls brightness. Huns Valen: no offense but that's lame Philip Linden: We don't do spotlights yet. Philip Linden: OK I hear ya. Philip Linden: Light are very compactly encoded... Huns Valen: I already have lights with transparent volumes around them for area lighting Philip Linden: So we take advantage of size. Skippy Powers: OK so are spots out forever? Philip Linden: Point taken. Philip Linden: No, we will get spots, but I'm not sure when. Huns Valen: spotlighting is a different issue... it would be nice but kind of CPU expensive I would think Skippy Powers: ok, thanks Philip Linden: GPUs can't handle the number of HW lights we need (for the technical) Philip Linden: Typical scene has 100s lights... James Miller: I hear we are getting a patch tomorrow.. James Miller: What's this all about? James Miller: Is this version 1.0? Philip Linden: Version 0.9 James Miller: and what might this version 0.9 have in it? Philip Linden: Yeah bug FIXES and the stuff like the map, etc. Philip Linden: Patience It'll all be in the release notes (hopefully!) Zypher Crash: the lights vs. names Zypher Crash: Light spots blank them out Philip Linden: Oh OK Zypher... we will enter/fix that. I understand... the glow. Bella Muse: what the hell is there to DO here? Philip Linden: Oh bella bella! Dionysus Starseeker: anything, everything, nothing Bella Muse: me and cori started today and couldn't find anything to do Nyna Slate: forgive her she is brand new lol James Miller: Bella, what do YOU feel like doing? Bella Muse: people say you can do anything Philip Linden: How did you get that outfit! That was something to do. Bella Muse: but every time i saw people, they were doing nothing Bella Muse: yeah but buying an outfit doesn't go too far James Miller: Bella, did you just get that IM from David Linden? Cori Sunshine: lol Dionysus Starseeker: nothing is something to do Philip Linden: Well it was perhaps a slow day... races, treasure hunts, costume parties. Philip Linden: Dominoes. James Miller: Go send an IM to David asking for a landmark James Miller: Once you get the landmark, use it to go to the event Bella Muse: k James Miller: and have FUN! Candie Apple: you're not seeing all the people who are working almost round the clock on the private sims. but you'll see them in a couple days Bella Muse: are there lots of events everyday? James Miller: If you don't like the events, create your OWN! James Miller: If you hate everything about SL, find yourself a private little cave and do your own thing Bella Muse: well, I'm still learning the basics, can't do much on my own yet Philip Linden: About 8 a day or so, quite a few. James Miller: The great thing about SL is that the possibilities are endless! James Miller: You can NEVER get bored Hunter Linden: Thanks to all for coming.... we'll continue to hold these town halls Category:Town Hall Logs